Shaq tells skeptics to "skepticize this": Windhorst Beat Blog

Tracy Boulian / The Plain DealerDaniel Gibson's move to point guard for the depleted Cavaliers was a struggle throughout Saturday's game at The Q. But Gibson's big fourth quarter pushed the Cavs over the top against the Thunder.

CLEVELAND -- Thoughts following the Cavs' 100-99 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder:

• There are a lot of things to talk about after this game, but Shaquille O'Neal compels us to start with this: The Cavs gave him the most touches he's had this season, partially because the Thunder doesn't have a center to match up with him and partially because he had to take some of the load with three players out. He responded by scoring 22 points (um, 6-of-15 at the foul line). And then he said this, in case anyone questions whether he still can get it done:

"The only skeptics than can skepticize me are the skeptics that have been where I've been."

No idea what it means, but it sounds good.

• Setting aside the missed free throws and the turnovers, this game is a reminder of just how hard it is to beat the Cavs, er, LeBron. Down three players and not playing well against a very good team (the Thunder are 15-5 against the East after this loss, by the way) the Cavs get it done.

There are flaws, of course. The Anthony Parker/Daniel Gibson backcourt is going to have to improve. But the most recent time the Cavs got handled was in Dallas more than a month ago. They are 14-3 since. The losses are at the buzzer in Utah, by two points after some huge clutch shots in Denver, and a three-point loss at home to the Bobcats when the Cavs were completely out of gas after a crazy load of games and they played terrible. Also on the books is a two-point loss in Memphis when Mike Conley hit a shot in the final seconds and a one-point loss at home to Chicago when LeBron ran into Joakim Noah at the rim and there was no call.

The point is, with LeBron playing at this level -- and these past two-plus weeks have been some of the best he's played in his career -- and Shaq contributing and the defense continuing to show up in the fourth quarter (Thunder was 6-of-19 shooting in the fourth), it is very hard to beat the Cavs. That is why they probably will be able to hold their own with their guards out, though they probably will have to swallow a couple of losses.

• Cavs ought to be quite thankful they don't see the Thunder again. Probably don't want any part of this team after the All-Star break. Oklahoma City is 24-20 and has 20 of its final 38 games at home. The Thunder's last four losses have been by a combined five points. The team is taking its lumps and learning along the way. It is massively better than it was last season and next year when it plays the Cavs, the games are probably going to be on national television.

Kevin Durant is going to finish in the top five of MVP voting this season. Soon, maybe even as early as next year, he and LeBron are going to be the challengers at the end. It will be very interesting to watch how the Thunder finishes -- its last 14 games are brutal, but it is only going to grow between now and then. Keep an eye on that team.

Recap:

Daniel Gibson had a tough debut as the Cavaliers' fill-in point guard for most of three quarters Saturday night. But after managing more fouls (four) than points (two), he finally got around to doing what he does best.

Shoot.

Gibson's fourth-quarter offense was capped by his 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds left as the Cavaliers nipped Oklahoma City and Kevin Durant, 100-99, at The Q. It took two free throws from LeBron James (37 points and most of the point-guard duties in the second half) and James' sensational block of Durant in the final seconds to seal the win.

GAME RESET

Cavs 100, Thunder 99

Game No. 45 at The Q

What happened: Daniel Gibson, starting in place of injured Mo Williams, made a 3-pointer to put the Cavs ahead with 8.7 seconds left. Then LeBron James blocked a Kevin Durant shot with less than two seconds remaining and hit two clutch free throws to edge the Cavs to their fourth consecutive win.

Lowlight: The Cavs had their worst free-throw shooting night of the season, 20-of-40.

Third Quarter: Thunder 78, Cavs 77

• The Cavs are playing some great offense and using Shaq the way he should be and hammering the Thunder inside. The problem is the defense has fallen to shreds. After showing a lot of hustle and effort in the first half, the Cavs have dialed it down several notches. They are just letting the Thunder players, especially Westbrook, get to the rim. They aren't cutting off the drives and they aren't challenging at the rim at all. Total effort and not what you usually see from the best paint defense team in the league. The Cavs allowed the Thunder to shoot 12-of-22 and 12 points in the paint in the quarter. That's how you get a rid of a 13-point lead.

• Meanwhile, Shaq was strong in the quarter. He scored nine points and he's already tied his season high with 21. Nenad Kristic is in foul trouble and Shaq is 8-of-10 from the field. This is going to have to be closer to the norm with Williams and West out.

• Cavs have hurt themselves from the foul line, going just 11-of-22. Shaq is 5-of-9, which is about his average. LeBron has missed five free throws. Also, um, Anthony Parker and Daniel Gibson have been terrible. They have played 47 minutes and they have seven points and one assist combined. It was so bad, Mike Brown went to Cedric Jackson late in the third.

Halftime: Cavs 56, Thunder 43

• Not having many reliable options on offense is having positive short-term effects. First off, LeBron is playing pure point guard and he's distrubiting nicely and looking to take the ball to the rim more because he's operating from the top of the key. Also, Shaquille O'Neal is getting more touches. He's got 12 points and has been to the foul line seven times already, which has the Thunder in some foul trouble. LeBron has six rebounds and seven assists with 19 points.

• The new backcourt is having trouble. The only guy that has stepped up so far is Danny Green, believe it or not. He made two strong plays back-to-back, knocking down an open 3-point for the first relevant basket of his career and then taking a charge a minute later. Daniel Gibson has been terrible, he's 1-of-6 with three fouls and Russell Westbrook has been making mincemeat out of him. Anthony Parker also hasn't done much, but he's done a decent job staying in front of Kevin Durant and he's gone to the boards.

• Jawad Williams is growing in front of everyone's eyes. He did an excellent job defending Durant in that quarter and he's got 12 points, showing a lot of hustle and good shooting. He was defending Kobe Bryant and doing a good job on Thursday. Amazing, this guy was a practice player three weeks ago in case anyone forgot.

First Quarter: Cavs 26, Thunder 23

• The LeBron/Kevin Durant battle is already sizzling. LeBron is picking up his pace with the injuries and already on his way to a triple double with eight points, four rebounds and five assists. Super-efficient Durant has not shot the ball great but he's got 11 points because he's getting to the line. Settle in, it will get better.

• The Cavs are playing very hard, chasing rebounds and working on defense. That is how they are going to have to play with the injuries. It isn't how they always play early in games. They got a bunch of hustle points in the first quarter, 10 second-chance points. Both Jawad Willians and JJ Hickson were very active on this front.

• Cavs backcourt was scoreless and had a bunch of turnovers in the first. That must improve, there is no room for error at this point. Gibson has got to make an impact scoring because he's not going to on defense.

• This is a letdown situation for the Cavs. Coming off the big Lakers win and down three rotation players for the first time, it was already going to be tough. But they are facing one of the best road teams in the league and perhaps one of their developing rivals for the future. Cavs advantage is that the Thunder is at the end of a tough trip, this is their fifth game and they are on the worst kind of back-to-back. They were on the road last night in the Central Time Zone (Memphis, where they lost by two) and then had to fly East, losing an hour.

• The Lakers are tall, the Thunder are long. Very, very long. I was actually taken back when the Cavs played down in OKC last month just how long they are. What I mean is they have guys who have big wingspans. This was obviously a mission of GM Sam Presti in putting the team together. Westbrook is long, Durant is long, Green is long, Sefolosha is long, James Harden off the bench is long, backup forward Serge Ibaka is long. The point is they can bother teams with their length and make it hard to run offense. Without the two point guards, offense may be tough for the Cavs anyway. This may well turn into a grindout game because of it. The Cavs had to get a great shooing game from Mo Williams (remember the halfcourter) and LeBron (a bunch of 3s) to beat this team last time around. They are going to need great shooting again to beat them.

• I believe the Durant-LeBron matchup could be better than the Kobe-LeBron matchup tonight and for years to come. Durant is a high efficiency scorer, he gets to the line at a high rate, shoots at a high rate and he rebounds better than Kobe. At this point in his career, at least this season because of injuries, Kobe has turned into a volume scorer on a lot of nights. Durant, and James for that matter, aren't. That is why I predict a quality duel.

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